Inspired by the massive public protests in Cairo’s Tahrir Square and Madrid’s Puerta del Sol Square, hundreds occupied Zuccotti Park near Wall Street from Sept. 17 to Nov. 15, 2011, as part of a campaign dubbed "Occupy Wall Street." Developing a common slogan "We are the 99 percent," solidarity encampments and demonstrations have been organized across the United States and the world to call for economic, political and social change. A global day of action on Oct. 15 drew protests in 1,500 cities world-wide, including more than 100 in the United States. #OWS #Occupy

We speak with former White House adviser Van Jones about what role the Occupy movement can and should play in re-electing President Obama. He says one reason he launched his Rebuild the Dream campaign last summer was to recognize economic issues not being effectively addressed by progressives. "We’re very good on issues around the environment, race, gender, immigration, sexuality. ... But there is a hole in the donut on the economy....

Van Jones, former green jobs adviser to the White House, responds to Obama’s recent support for TransCanada to build the southern leg of its Keystone XL oil pipeline from Oklahoma to Texas, despite his earlier rejection of the project after large civil disobedience protests by environmental groups. "The lesson here is the fight’s never over," Jones says. "We’re going to be circling each other for a long time in...

As of Van Jones’ is interviewed on Democracy Now!, you can read an excerpt fromthe green economy pioneer’s newest book, which reflects on his journey from grassroots outsider to White House insider, shares details of his time in the Obama administration and his resignation after coming under attack from then-Fox News host, Glenn Beck, and contrasts the structure and rhetoric of the 2008 Obama campaign, the Tea Party movement and...

Occupy Wall Street activist Cecily McMillan suffered a seizure when New York City police officers pulled her from the crowd and arrested her as hundreds attempted to re-occupy Zuccotti Park on Saturday to mark six months since the launch of the movement. In her first interview since her arrest, McMillan says she has decided to speak out because of an outpouring of public support. "I have received so many emails and twitters and messages...

In his new article, "Bank of America: Too Crooked to Fail," Rolling Stone reporter Matt Taibbi chronicles the remarkable history of the rise of Bank of America, an institution he says has defrauded "everyone from investors and insurers to homeowners and the unemployed." Taibbi describes how the Bush and Obama administrations have repeatedly propped up the financial institution, which received a $45 billion taxpayer bailout...

Financial reporter Matt Taibbi talks about Goldman Sach’s history of denigrating its own clients, as recently highlighted by former Goldman executive Greg Smith’s explosive resignation letter in the New York Times. Decrying what he called Goldman’s "toxic" culture, Smith said bosses at the firm called their clients "muppets" and strove to maximize profits at the expense of client interests, adding:...

Michael Moore led hundreds of people from the Left Forum conference to Zuccotti Park on Saturday where hundreds had gathered to reoccupy the park to mark six months since the launch of the Occupy Wall Street movement, which began last September and launched protests around the world that gave voice to "the 99 percent." That night, New York City police officers cleared the park, making at least 73 arrests. Many people reported...

Famed sociologist Frances Fox Piven and labor organizer Stephen Lerner discuss how Occupy Wall Street could grow into a major political movement that draws millions into the streets. "I’m absolutely convinced that Occupy is the beginning of another massive protest movement," Fox Piven says. "Protest movements have a long life—10, 15 years—and they are what we have to rely on to take our country back." Fox Piven is...

As students across the country stage a National Day of Action to Defend Public Education, we look at the nation’s largest school systems—Chicago and New York City—and the push to preserve quality public education amidst new efforts to privatize schools and rate teachers based on test scores. In Chicago, the city’s unelected school board voted last week to shut down seven schools and fire all of the teachers at 10 other schools. In...